Headache Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Home Remedies for Tension Headache
Headache Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Home Remedies for Tension Headache
Headache is one of the most frequent of human discomforts. In today’s life headache is a regular feature. Most of the times a headache are more of a nagging nuisance than an indicator of a serious problem. But, in some cases the headache does warrant more serious attention as it can be the indicator of some significant problem.
Read more on How to get rid of Headaches and Home Remedies for Gastritis and Constipation, Diarrhea and Gastritis Treatment
Tension headache:-
This type of headache usually affects both side of the head, though it may sometimes be pointed to the neck or the front of the head.
A sensation of fullness or lightness in the head is common.
The characteristic feature is that, this is the only type of headache which persists continuously throughout the day and night without any relief in between.
Tension headache may occur under conditions of emotional crises or intense worry.
It is generally, found in patients having associated depression or anxiety.
What are the types of headaches?
There are two types of headaches -
1. Primary headaches – accounts for 90% of all headaches. This is not related to any other disease. There are three types of primary headache -
A. tension headaches – associates with stress, anxiety and depression.
B. cluster headaches – occur daily, over a long period.
C. migraine.
Secondary headache – associated with an underlying condition such as cerebro-vascular disease, head trauma, infection, tumour or some metabolic disorder (such as diabetes, thyroid problem). In these cases, the underlying condition must be diagnosed and treated.
One may also suffer from something called “mixed” headache in which tension headache or secondary headache triggers migraine headaches.
Symptoms of headache -
Signs that indicate the presence of a headache:
1. A constant dull ache in the head.
2. Nausea
3. Difficulty in sleeping
4. Loss of appetite
5. Feeling of uneasiness
Preventive measures for a headache -
1. Exercise moderately but regularly. Avoid exercising in very hot weather.
2. Reduce stress
3. Identify triggering factors such as food, tobacco, alcohol. Foods typically include chocolate, dairy products, and caffeine.
4. Avoid regular use of pain relievers.
Home Remedies for headaches
1. Watermelon juice mixed with sugar works well for headaches due to exposure to excessive heat.
2. Mix ½ tsp of mustard seeds powder and in 3 tsp of water. Put this in the nostrils to cure headache and migraine.
3. Massage the forehead by rosemary oil. This would provide relief from headache.
4. For headache caused due to cold, warm water gargling, nasal cleaning with warm water and steam inhalation would be beneficial.
5. Make a paste using 3-4 cloves. Apply this paste on the forehead. It would provide instant relief from the headache.
6. Put 2 to 4 drops of cow’s butter or ghee in the nostrils for about seven days. This is an effective remedy for headache caused due to sinusitis.
7. For headaches which are due to liver or stomach problem, hot fomentations over the abdomen region would provide relief.
8. Prepare a paste using lemon crust and water. Apply this paste all over the forehead. This would provide relief from the headache.
9. If the headache is because of exposure to cold air, make a paste with the help of 1 tsp each of finely ground cinnamon and water. Apply this paste on the forehead.
10. Consuming freshly sliced apple each day empty stomach cures all the chronic headaches.
Find More Headache Articles
Tags: Causes, Headache, Home, Remedies, symptoms, tension, treatment
Tension Headache And Tense Muscles ? Another Myth!
Tension Headache And Tense Muscles ? Another Myth!
So You Have Tension-Type Headache – How Do You Feel About This Diagnosis?
It was probably almost a throw away line and immediately dismissed as nothing to worry about – just get on with your life! But in my experience often ‘tension-type’ headache, whilst usually less severe than a ‘migraine’, is more annoying with the constancy of it, the inability to shake it off, wearing you down. One wonders whether it would be better to have severe pain for a day and then be pain-free for a period of time!
Over 150 years ago, primarily because of the throbbing nature of headache, it was presumed that the major problem was (expansion or dilatation of) the blood vessels – and since any headache that was/is throbbing in nature was diagnosed as migraine and non-throbbing headaches were excluded from a diagnosis of migraine – the idea of tension headache developed, for despite the lack of evidence, the cause of non-throbbing headaches was considered to be muscular (of the scalp and forehead) and/or stress related; another assumption was made!
However a landmark study (1) in the late 1970s demonstrated that:
- the tension in muscles of the scalp and forehead in tension headache sufferers during a headache was no different from group with no headache;
- the tension headache sufferers had increased (and more) tension in their neck muscles when compared with the group with no headache – perhaps indicating that tension headache is an unrecognised cervicogenic headache
Other research (2) has shown that tension headache was significantly reduced after rehabilitation of neck musculature i.e. treating the neck, providing more evidence that tension headache is really a headache with its origin in the neck.
A significant body of recent research has demonstrated that sensitisation or hyper excitability of the brainstem is the primary disorder in tension-type headache sufferers (this is also the case in migraine – supporting the idea that tension headache and migraine are not separate conditions but are different expressions of the same condition) … and that this sensitisation is present constantly i.e. even when tension headache free – confused? Furthermore the ‘triptans’, medication developed specifically for migraine, are also effective in eliminating tension headache. But … don’t the ‘triptans’ work by decreasing the dilatation of the blood vessels? Well initially this was thought (and largely assumed) to be the case, but experiments have shown that the triptans decrease the sensitisation of the brainstem.
Now what is this thing called the ‘Brainstem’. The brainstem is an area at the top of the spinal cord, which receives input from (activity of) structures inside the head (including blood vessels) and also from structures of the upper neck (ligaments, joints and their capsules, and muscles) which are supplied by the top three spinal nerves. The brainstem is also influenced by serotonin and a system known as the Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Control system – don’t be overwhelmed by these terms – I will explain this elsewhere. Now all information or activity in relation to headache, head pain and migraine, passes through the brainstem to the higher brain centres where it is interpreted, where the decisions are made! The Brainstem is to headache what the black box is to the airplane – it is the final common pathway for all headache and migraine information.
The question remains as to what is causing the sensitisation.
As I mentioned before the brainstem is influenced by four systems. The Serotonin system and the Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Control system (DNICs) both act to inhibit or desensitise the brainstem – if either system is not functioning satisfactorily then the brainstem would become sensitised or hyper excitable.
I’m sure you have heard of serotonin and it’s role in headache. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and its role is to act as a filter, screening out minimal or non threatening (pain) signals. Under normal circumstances, satisfactory serotonin levels counteract pain signals. However serotonin levels in headache sufferers are often too low. Research has shown a clear relationship. When injected with a drug that depletes serotonin, test subjects got headaches. Likewise, when they were injected with serotonin, headaches were relieved – so it may that the brainstem is sensitised by unsatisfactory levels of serotonin;
or,
The Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Control system (DNICs) is poorly understood. This mechanism involves a reduction in awareness of pain when a simultaneous pain is felt elsewhere in the body. For example, headache or migraine pain is perceived as much, much less severe after having hit your thumb with a sledgehammer! If the DNICs is deficient then it would be similar to hitting your thumb with a much smaller hammer, and your headache pain would be only slightly less severe. Perhaps therefore, sensitisation of the brainstem could occur secondary to a disorder of the DNICs. However, whilst research findings have been inconsistent, a decisive study (3) has shown this is unlikely in migraine sufferers. Furthermore other research has shown that the DNICs plays a less significant role in females … and of the sexes, females are more susceptible to headache, making the DNICs less likely to be involved;
or,
Sensitisation or hyperexcitability of the brainstem can also occur as result of ongoing abnormal signals from an injury to, or a harmful disorder of the upper neck structures including joints, muscles, and ligaments;
or,
Sensitisation could also result from a similar situation i.e. ongoing abnormal messages from a disorder of a structure from inside the head, for example, an infected tooth, a diseased sinus (although true sinus headache is rare), irritation of the meninges …
However, the results of the decisive study conducted in the late 1970s (1) and more recently (2) suggest that the most likely source of sensitisation lies in the neck. My extensive clinical experience overwhelmingly supports these findings.
The evidence has prompted a shift away from the musculature of the forehead and scalp as the cause of tension headache pain and is now focusing on “What is causing the sensitization of the brainstem?” …… why is there so much energy, so many resources when it is so obvious – the reason is that the role of the neck does not fit the medical model of headache and migraine, and therefore the model has demonstrated little interest in exploring this as an option. It is essential that all factors, which have the potential to sensitise the brainstem, be investigated equally.
Currently this is not the situation – the neck is largely disregarded.
Stay tuned …!
Dean
Dean H Watson
Consultant Headache & Migraine Physiotherapist; International Teacher; Director, The Headache Clinic & Watson Headache Institute; PhD Candidate Murdoch University, Western Australia;Adjunct Lecturer, Masters Program, Physiotherapy School, University of South Australia; MAppSc(Res)GradDipAdvManipTher
Experienced health practitioners trained in the Watson Headache Approach perform the examination and treatment techniques developed by Dean Watson. These techniques are based on his extensive experience of 7000 headache patients (21,000 hours) over 21 years and are now taught internationally.
For your nearest practitioner who has completed training in the ‘Watson Headache Approach’ please refer to the ‘Practitioner Directory’.
(Anthony M, Hinterberger H, Lance JW. Plasma serotonin in migraine and stress. Arch Neurol 1967; 16:544–52.
Bakal DA, Kaganov JA. Muscle Contraction and Migraine: Psychophysiologic Comparison. Headache 1977;17(5):208-215
Brennum J, Kjeldsen M, Olesen J. The 5-HT1-like agonist sumatriptan has a significant effect in chronic tension-type headache. Cephalalgia 1992;12(6):375-379
Cady RK, Gutterman D, Saiers JA, Beach ME. Responsiveness of non-IHS migraine and tension-type headache to sumatriptan. Cephalalgia 1997;17(5):588-590
Fullerton T, Komorowski-Swiatek D, Forrest A, Gengo FM. The pharmacodynamics of sumatriptan in nitroglycerin-induced headache. J Clin Pharmocol 1999;39(1):17-29
Goldhammer L. Second cervical root neurofibroma and ipsilateral migraine headache. Cephalalgia 1993; 13:132
Hoskin KL, Kaube H, Goadsby PJ. Sumatriptan can inhibit trigeminal afferents by an exclusively neural mechanism. Brain 1996; 119:1419-28
Jansen J, Markakis E, Rama B, Hildebrandt J. Hemicranial attacks or permanent hemicrania – a sequel of upper cervical root compression. Cephalalgia 1989; 9:123-30
Katsavara Z, Giffin N, Diener HC, Kaube H. Abnormal habituation of ‘nociceptive’ blink reflex in migraine – evidence for increased excitability of trigeminal nociception. Cephalalgia 2003; 23:814-819
Katsavara Z, Lehnerdt G, Duda B, Ellrich J, Diener HC, Kaube H. Sensitization of trigeminal nociception specific for migraine but not pain of sinusitis. Neurology 2002; 59:1450-1453
Kaube H, Katasavara Z, Przywara S, Drepper J, Ellrich J, Diener HC. Acute migraine headache. Possible sensitization of neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus? Neurology 2002; 58:1234-1238
Kimball RW, Friedman AP, Vallejo E. Effect of serotonin in migraine patients. Neurology 1960; 10:107–11.
Lipton RB, Walter FS, Cady R, Hall C, O’Quinn S, Kuhn T, Gutterman D. Sumatriptan for the Range of Headaches in Migraine Sufferers: Results of the Spectrum Study. Headache 2000;40(10);783-791
Milanov I, Bogdanova D.
